- Are we, as some might say, motivated by a desire to save our off-spring? A desire to save our offspring through altruistic means seems apparent through the phenomenon that Richard Gross calls "kin selection." Such altruism, since it preserves the genes of the mother and the father in successive generations, can be seen as, contrary to what it may seem like, a selfish case of self-fulfillment and the "feel-good" factor.
- Must there always be some sort of intrinsic reward for doing good? The answer to this question depends upon what "intrinsic" means. It has been scientifically raised and proven that there are sources of pleasure and the secretion of neurochemicals that provides motivation for self-fulfillment and such selfish cases of altruistic behaviour. There is also a social reward in altruism, and of course a concrete set of consequences that can result from self-fulfillment.
- Mr. Otis once said, "That having integrity is doing the right thing when no one is watching." If this is so, and no one knows when we have done good, would you still do good? Such would be much more difficult to manage than exercising integrity, altruism, or any other sort of virtuous deed when removed of the motivation brought by recognition. However, such motivation may be brought and commended in sources of virtue and morality that is brought with, say, religious faith, or pressure under an authoritarian force.
- "Delayed reciprocal altruism", seems like a gamble - back to game theory, any way. Does this seem to make sense to you. That is that we act out of a desire to have what we have done being done to us? Golden Rules, Biblical sayings, and the quotations that many others continue to utter as a source of moral inspiration revolves around this concept of delayed reciprocal altruism. The Confucian Golden Rule states, "Don't do unto others what you would not have them do unto you." The Christian counterpart states just about the same thing, but in the positive: "Do onto others as you would wish them do onto you." This simply validates the concept of delayed reciprocal altruism as consistent with our lives today and our world as a reliable tool for moral reasoning.
- Are we ever being truly "selfless" when committing an act of altruism? It would be debatable, but not senseless, to assert that indeed, selflessness is incompatible even with apparent altruism. Altruism theoretically is a source of self-fulfillment and the awakening of the pleasure factor. Although the concrete consequence does show that consideration towards others does exist throughout the utilisation of altruism, such does not guarantee the "selflessness" factor.
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